Junior team announced for Mountain Running Home International

England Athletics is pleased to announce that four strong junior mountain running teams will compete against the Home Countries at the British and Irish Junior Mountain Championships.  Hosted in turn by each of the participating countries, this year’s event returns to Wales on 13 September.

For the U20 athletes, the race is 6.9km with 303m ascent/descent, and the U17 athletes race over 6.4km with 265m ascent/descent.

This event continues to provide a valuable opportunity for our young mountain runners, to help them develop into the senior ranks, and hopefully gain more international honours.

U17 women

• Clara McKee (Calder Valley Fell Runner) makes her England debut after winning all the FRA (Fell Runners' Association) English Championship races and was also crowned U17 inter-counties fell champion. She is looking forward to new competition at international level.
• Isla Pastor (Warriors PAC, Sarah & Ronan Kearney) earned her third England vest and will be aiming to improve on the individual bronze that she won last year in Ireland. More recently, she finished third in the Inter Girls’ 1500m steeplechase English Schools' Track & Field (T&F) Championships and was selected to represent England at the Schools' International Athletics Board (SIAB) T&F Championships, where she finished second.
• Isla Yorke (Warriors PAC, Sarah & Ronan Kearney) earned her first England vest after a strong season in the FRA English Championship series and a silver medal in the U17 fell inter-counties.  She represented England at the SIAB cross country, also competes on the road, winning silver at the National Young Athletes 5k Championships - and recently qualified for the 1500m final at the English Schools' T&F Championships.
• Chloe Stuart (Mercia Fell Runners, James Stuart) is another athlete to make her England debut after finishing third in the U17 English Championship series.

U20 women

• Amelie Lane (Wharfedale Harriers, Angela Midge) is the most experienced female athlete on the team and has a number of international vests behind her - with several notable results internationally in the last couple of years.  She finished second at the JHI in 2023 and 2024 so has high hopes to improve on this in her final year of U20 competition.
• Rose Gilldaley (Eden Runners, Derek Hurton) earns her fifth England vest, and this will be her second time on the U20 team with hopes to make the podium after finishing fourth in 2024. She has had a strong season on the fells and is the U19 inter-counties fell champion.
• Constance Jenneson (Buxton AC, Terry Fowler) makes her England debut after a strong season racing on the fells where she has consistently finished in the top three. She is excited to see what she can deliver on an international scene.
• Graihagh Turner (Penistone Runners, Paddy Wright) earned her fifth England vest, and this will be her third time competing at the JHI. This year she moves up into the U20 category and will be looking to replicate her previous performances after winning individual gold in the U17 race last year.

U17 open

• Jake Ireland (Macclesfield Harriers, Alison Hartopp) won the FRA junior championships and gained his first England vest at the JHI in Ireland, finishing fourth and in the gold medal team. This year Jake finished fourth at the Inter Counties XC Championships and won the U15 National XC Championships as well as the Inter Counties Fell Championships. He also was part of the World Youth Cup team this year in Slovakia as well as the England squad at the SIAB XC Championships, where he was part of the winning team.
• Thomas Wood (Macclesfield Harriers, Alison Hartopp) has represented Cheshire County at Cross Country, Track and Fell Running. He has competed in the Fell Runners' Association (FRA) Junior Championships since competing as an U11 - and was U13 and U15 Boys' Champion. This year Thomas finished 3rd in the U17. This is Thomas's first England vest which has been his goal this season and he is super excited about racing in the Junior Home International.
• Zeke Sumner (Ambleside AC) has represented Cumbria at Fell-Running and Cross-Country at both Under 15 and Under 17 level. He was the Under 14 BOFRA Champion in 2023. Last year Zeke was awarded the Pete Bland Bursary at Grasmere Sports and subsequently interviewed on BBC Radio Cumbria. This year he was joint winner of the Kendal Winter League and finished in second place in the FRA English Championship. In August Zeke will travel to Italy to represent the UK in the Youth Sky Running World Championship.
• George Martin (Sedbergh School Running Club, Richard Wells & Kieran Walker) has progressed well this fell season and finished fourth at the British Inter-Counties and FRA Junior Fell Race U17 Championships at Clougha Pike. This was off the back of a strong XC season where he successfully became the U15 Cumbria XC Champion. This will be his England debut and he aims to gain more England vests in the future. 

U20 open

• Sam Bentham (Ilkley) won the Junior Home International last year, and has been taking part in some Senior English Championship races this year placing 4th in his most recent one at Kettlewell Anniversary. He also earned his first Senior Yorkshire vest running in the British Fell Inter-Counties at Pen Y Ghent. He is looking forward to racing for the U20 England team for the last time in Wales this September.
• Alex Poulston (Wirral AC, Matt Seddon) will be competing in his fifth JHI. He has a number of team and individual medals including individual gold at Ambleside in 2022. He has five England and two GB vests and was tenth individual and in the bronze medal team at last year's European Championships. Alex was also the U19 FRA champion in 2024. 
• Jack Sanderson (Settle, Alastair Scholey) won the Junior Home International last year in the U17 age group and he hopes for a smooth transition to the U20 age group. This will be Jack's eighth International vest. Jack was most recently eighth  in the Senior Boys' 3000m at the English Schools' T&F Champs. He also ran for England earlier this season at the U18 Mountain Running Cup. 
• Jay Hutchinson (Trafford AC, Mike Hutchinson) has been selected for the England U17 JHI team in the last 2 years, finishing tenth and then second last year. This year Jay ran for England in the World U18 Mountain Cup finishing ninth and first Britain home. Jay also ran well this winter finishing sixth in the National Cross Country at Parliament Hill. 

We have several athletes who have realistic chances to take individual podium places, to support our bid for team gold, and we wish them the best of luck.

The men’s Team Manager will be Gary Priestley, and the women’s Team Manager, Sharon Taylor.